Stock prices opened higher at the start of the week which is filled with interest rate decisions by central banks; however London-listed housebuilders fell after a report by Nationwide.
A packed week for economic announcements got under way with the FTSE 100 index in positive territory.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 55.93 points, 0.6%, at 9,704.96. The FTSE 250 was up 101.65 points, 0.5%, at 21,976.55, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.090 points at 751.45.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 974.19, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 19,091.37, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.7% at 17,400.34.
The week ahead features a series of major central bank decisions and key US labour market releases. The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee is expected to vote by a narrow margin in favour of cutting the UK’s interest rate to 3.75% on Thursday.
On the same day, the European Central Bank is widely expected to keep rates unchanged at 2%, while the central banks of Norway and Sweden are also forecast to leave policy settings on hold.
The Bank of Japan meets on Friday, with policymakers seen raising interest rates by a quarter point to 0.75%.
In the US, the Federal Reserve cut rates last week, shifting attention to Tuesday’s release of delayed labour market reports for October and November, as well as Thursday’s monthly inflation data.
Sterling was quoted at $1.3371 early on Monday in London, up from $1.3356 at the equities close on Friday. The euro stood at $1.1734, slightly lower than $1.1739, while against the yen the dollar traded at JP¥155.15, down from JP¥155.69.
HSBC shares opened 0.8% higher after its plans to take its Hong Kong-listed subsidiary Hang Seng private took a step forward.
An independent committee set up by Hang Seng’s board said it believes the proposed privatisation is ‘fair and reasonable’ and recommended shareholders vote in favour of the deal.
HSBC announced the plans in September, valuing Hang Seng at HK$290 billion, or around £27.9 billion.
On the FTSE 100, Burberry led the risers, up 3.3%. At the other end of the index, Associated British Foods fell 1.5% after Jefferies cut the stock to ’underperform’ with a 1,800p price target. Tesco was close behind, down 1.2%, after Jefferies also cut the grocer to hold’ with a 450p price target.
Mining stocks added support to the blue-chip index after a further rise in gold prices. Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo rose 2.6% and 1.8% respectively, while Antofagasta gained 1.9%.
Gold was quoted at $4,345 an ounce on Monday morning, up from $4,291.08 late on Friday.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals was among the biggest fallers, down 1.4%, after the drugmaker said Chief Executive Officer Riad Mishlawi stepped down on Monday ‘by mutual agreement’ and also left the board.
Executive Chair Said Darwazah, who previously served as CEO, immediately assumed all chief executive responsibilities.
Hikma said Darwazah will lead alongside Chief Financial Officer Khalid Nabilsi, who joins the board and takes on expanded management duties.
Housebuilders moved lower after Nationwide said the UK housing market proved ‘resilient’ through 2025 despite subdued consumer sentiment and mortgage rates remaining around three times their post-pandemic lows.
Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Redrow and Berkeley Group fell 1.0%, 0.9%, 1.1% and 0.5% respectively.
In its annual review and 2026 outlook, Nationwide Chief Economist Robert Gardner said that annual house price growth slowed from 4.7% at the end of 2024 to 1.8% in November 2025, leaving prices close to the record highs seen in summer 2022.
Nationwide said stamp duty changes that took effect in April prompted a spike in transactions in March as buyers rushed to complete before the deadline, followed by softer activity in subsequent months. ‘However, the underlying picture was little changed as demand held up well throughout,’ Gardner said.
The lender expects housing activity to ‘strengthen a little further’ in 2026 as affordability continues to improve, forecasting annual house price growth of 2% to 4% next year.
It added that property tax changes announced in November’s UK budget are ‘unlikely to have a significant impact’ on the market.
On the FTSE 250, Frasers Group surged 8.1% after announcing a share buyback of up to £70.0 million, starting immediately and running through to April 24, 2026.
Elsewhere, TT Electronics tumbled 18% after DBAY Advisors, which owns just under 25% of the company, said it will not make an offer ahead of Monday’s deadline and will instead vote against the agreed takeover by Switzerland’s Cicor Technologies.
DBAY had previously explored a rival bid, calling Cicor’s 150 pence-per-share offer ‘unattractive’.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt rose 0.3%.
Data published by Germany’s Federal Statistical Office showed the country’s annual wholesale price inflation accelerated to 1.5% in November from 1.1% in October, while monthly prices rose 0.3%, above expectations for a slowdown.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 1.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.7%.
On Friday, Wall Street ended lower amid continued US technology sector jitters. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, the S&P 500 lost 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.7%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.17%, narrowing from 4.19%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.83%, narrowing from 4.86%.
Brent oil was quoted at $61.16 a barrel early in London on Monday from $61.30 late Friday.
Still to come on Monday’s economic calendar are eurozone industrial production data, Ireland’s trade balance, Canadian consumer price inflation and manufacturing sales figures, and the US New York Empire State manufacturing index.
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